Ray Takes Fourth at State Tournament

Levi Ray works toward a reversal in his third place match at the Nebraska State Wrestling Tournament.Photo by Dee Dee Ray

Five Sheridan County wrestlers made the trek to Omaha last weekend to compete in the Nebraska State Wrestling Tournament, four Hawks and one Mustang. Hay Springs’ Levi Ray was the only one to medal, finishing fourth out of the 16 contenders at 132 lbs.

At 132 lbs., senior Levi Ray pinned Marquis Granville of Neligh-Oakda in 3:00 in the first round. He then pinned Jacob Mason of SOLO in the quarterfinals to advance to the semi’s Friday night, where he faced Brody Lewis of Riverton. Ray wrestled Lewis very well, but was unable to come up with the win, losing 2-0. Lewis went on to win the gold. In the Consolation semi-finals, Levi easily defeated Jake Judge 9-0, advancing to the third place match. In the final match Ray was defeated by Marcus Escalera 6-1 to finish fourth.

At 138 lbs., Chris Ray defeated Joshua Traynor of Meridian 6-4 in round one. He was pinned by Drew Loberg of RAND in 3:00 in the quarterfinals to drop to the second consolation round. He then lost to Bryce Uhing 12-13 Friday morning to be eliminated from the tournament.

At 145 lbs., Jake Johnson was pinned by Zachary Morris in 0:49. He was then pinned by Hunter Mowry of CAMB in the first consolation round Friday morning in 4:42 to be eliminated from the tournament.

At 160, Kolten Marx fell to Cole Remmenga in 1:30. He was then pinned by Keighton Moore in 2:28 in the first consolation round Friday morning.

In Class C, Gordon-Rushville’s Micah Scherbarth was pinned by Ryan Malasek in 0:50 in the first round at 160 lbs. He then defeated Jamal Johnson 8-2 in the first consolation round to stay alive. In the second consolation round, Scherbarth was pinned by Skyler Ratkovec in 2:16 to be eliminated from the tournament.